Lent - Day 34 - One Teacher

Lent Devotions from Concordia University 2025
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Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. 

The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.

Matthew 23:1-22

“You have one teacher.” We live in a world filled with many experts on any topic and any issue. But for Christians, there is only one authoritative teacher—Christ. In a time where everyone has an opinion and every opinion is viewed as having personal validity and therefore “truth”, Christians recognize only one authoritative teacher—Christ. In a world where we are bombarded with a confluence of voices and messages, for Christians there is only one authoritative teacher—Christ. As disciples of Jesus, it can be difficult and exhausting to wade through it all in order to cling only to the authoritative teaching of Christ. We are not alone in this struggle. This has been the difficulty for all of Jesus’ disciples. This is exactly why some of those earliest disciples wrote things like, "Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope…not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another all the more." (Hebrews 10:23-25) Christ encourages us to be gathered to hear His word so that through the preaching of pastors, the examination of Scripture, and conversations with brothers and sisters in Christ He would be able to teach, instruct, and encourage us in faith.

Prayer:

Christ, 

         Be our teacher in age as in youth, drifting or doubting, for You are the truth. Grant us to trust You; though shifting as sand, doubt cannot daunt us; for in You we stand. Amen.

Prayer adapted from the words of Timothy Dudley-Smith.

Lent - Day 33 - True Hope

Lent Devotions from Concordia University 2025

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And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.” 

Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar's.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away. 

The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.’ Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother. So too the second and third, down to the seventh. After them all, the woman died. In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her.” But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching. 

But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” 

Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,
‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet”’? If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

Matthew 22:1-46

As Christians, where is our hope? In the face of hardship, does knowing that God is with us always give us hope? In the face of death, does it give us hope to know that we will be with God in heaven? The answer is, of course, yes. But greater than all of this our hope is in the resurrection. Ultimately what we look to, above all things, is knowing that Christ will come again, and just as He rose from the dead we can be assured that we too will all be raised from the dead. We will be body and soul, complete once again, and this time, in all perfection before the living God. This is the hope that we cling to. 

This is the hope that has been spoken by God from the beginning. Jesus points out we know this to be true because God is not a God of the dead, but is the God of the living, and in His perfection, He intends us to be living, not just metaphorically but literally in His presence.

Prayer:

Thank you, Jesus Christ. we know our hope is in You not only because of the forgiveness we receive through the shedding of Your blood, but because of the confidence we have in our resurrection because of Your resurrection. Amen.

Lent - Day 32 - True Repentance

Lent Devotions from Concordia University 2025
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In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once. When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. 

"What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him. 

Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.

Matthew 21:18-46

In Jesus’ parable about two sons it seems strange to give positive support to a son, who was initially obstinate and disobedient, just because he later “changed his mind.” I am sure we would like it better if there could be a third son, one who is asked, agrees, and does the will of the Father. However, there is only one who fits that character profile and He’s telling the story. Jesus uses this parable to highlight the contrast between two groups of people from his interactions. There are the “sinners” whose lives have been full of disobedience to God but heard Jesus’ call to repentance and turned to Him. 

Then there are the chief priests and elders whose lives seem to demonstrate obedience to God but who refuse to believe the testimony of John the Baptist and turn to Christ. The word used in “changing his mind” gives a sense of being filled with regret and can be connected with the ideas of repentance. From the time Jesus entered into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, He has done nothing but concern Himself with people repenting. There are many ways we deceive ourselves or try to fool others with a charade of obedience. But this really is no different than the second son giving empty lip service. Instead, Christ would recall John’s testimony in order to persuade us to repent: Flee the final judgment, turn from sin, turn to Christ and bear fruit in keeping with repentance. (Matthew 3:1-12)

Prayer:

Father, 

         Please forgive us for all the ways we disobey You. Forgive our feigned obedience by looking instead at the perfect obedience of Jesus and His sacrificial death. Strengthen our faith by Your Holy Spirit and produce in us fruit in keeping with repentance. Amen.

Lent - Day 31 - Dead to Sin

Lent Devotions from Concordia University 2025

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Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 

And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?” And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.

Matthew 21:1-17

Due to their lives of sin and deceit, thieves would flee to caves between raids for safety from the people they had robbed thus giving birth to the phrase “den of robbers.” When Jesus used this phrase He quoted the Old Testament from the prophet Jeremiah. God spoke through Jeremiah saying, Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? (Jeremiah 7:11) These words were spoken to people who would not change their lives of sin. The people wrongly believed that the temple protected them from the consequences of their evil and from punishment for their idolatrous actions against God. Refusing to repent or change they would emerge from the temple ready to engage in more defiance of God’s will. Unfortunately, this was still the case in Jesus’ day. Life in Christ calls for a very different confidence. We stand fully confident in the grace that Christ pours out for us freely. However, we should be careful not to turn this into “cheap grace,” assuming permission to sin all the more as a way to “give” God the “opportunity” to forgive us even more. Life in Christ means living each day fully repentant of our sinful lives. We are not to remain confident in our sins but rather grieve them. We are not to seek ways to continue in our sin, but rather desire that God would help us overcome temptation and sin. Reconciled to God through Christ we are confident because our sinful flesh is put to death and we daily rise as a new creation to live before God in righteousness and purity.

Prayer:

Lord, 

        Please forgive our sins. Change our lives. Amen.

Lent - Day 30 - The Glory of Service

Lent Devotions from Concordia University 2025
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For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 

And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first, and the first last.” 

And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.” 

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” 

And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.

Matthew 20:1-34

“The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.” Do we realize the significance of these words? Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem, about to be praised with “hosannas” and palm branches as King and Messiah, and here He says that He has come to serve. What a paradox. What an absolutely absurd thing to say. It is just as absurd as saying that the very Son of God was going to give His life for others. 

We have heard the story of Christ so often that I don’t think we fully grasp how these words and ideas rip and tear at the very fabric of what makes sense in this universe. Yet that is exactly what Jesus came to do. We should not be surprised that Jesus would turn another norm in this world upside-down: “Do not be like the world, trying to push others below you or lift yourselves up at others’ expense. Instead be a servant.” You see, what reason do we have to push others below or lift ourselves up? Christ has already elevated us to a place beyond our hopes. He has already elevated us in the only thing that matters. We were once strangers, aliens, even enemies of God but through the Cross, Jesus has made us members of God’s household. (Ephesians 2:11-22) With that new reality, we are now free to live as servants of all.

Prayer:

Jesus, 

         You served us. How difficult it can be to come to grips with that reality. Help us to live in response to that, as a servant to those around us. Amen.

Lent - Day 29 - Children Show the Way

Lent Devotions from Concordia University 2025

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Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” And he laid his hands on them and went away. 

And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

Matthew 19:13-30

It is a stunning contrast of two encounters. First, people bring infants to be blessed by Jesus. He declares that God’s reign is theirs, rebutting the disciples who did not want Jesus to be bothered by them. On the other hand, there is a young man who having “obeyed the laws,” is seen by the disciples as the example of one who has been saved by God. Jesus uses him as an object lesson to show all of humanity’s inability to garner access to the Kingdom. 

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For my ways are higher than your ways.” (Isaiah 55:8-9) We have our own thoughts as to what should grant a person access to the Father, to life, to eternity. We have our own ideas about how these determinations should be made and confidences should be instilled. Those thoughts become the lenses with which we view the world, ourselves, others, and God. But Jesus makes it very clear that these infants in their helplessness are the picture of God’s reigning work. 

For with man, salvation is impossible, but with God all things are possible. When Jesus declares a child has been saved, when Jesus declares his disciples are saved, when Jesus declares you to be saved, when Jesus declares that I am saved, then it is absolutely so! Why? Because He and only He can accomplish such things. He does so through His divine wisdom and according to the good and gracious will of the Father. He accomplished it on the cross and declares it in our baptism.

Prayer:

Holy Spirit, 

                  Continually work in us a child-like faith where our “grown-up” understandings do not impede our trust in the all-sufficient grace of Christ. Continue to establish Your saving faith in all people including all the little children. Amen.

Lent - Day 28 - Healing in Marriage

Lent Devotions from Concordia University 2025
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Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate. They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” But he said to them, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.
Matthew 19:1-12

We cannot get around Jesus’ very pointed comments on the subject of divorce. God hates divorce. It goes against what He established since creation. These are difficult words to hear, especially coming authoritatively from the lips of Christ Himself. Our world often colors divorce as a neat and clean break, trying to separate it from the brokenness in the marriage that led up to it in the first place. However, if you have been divorced, helped others through a divorce, are a “child of divorce,” or have in any other way been impacted by divorce, then you have seen the effects. It fills lives with grief, hurt, anxiety, anger, fear, pain and distress.

When God established marriage He had something much different in mind for us. He desired that a man and woman would have a unique bond when joined together as husband and wife. They would benefit from mutual companionship and be blessed by what comes in this unique relationship where each is singularly committed to the wellbeing of the other. Our world tries to persuade us with different understandings and expectations for marriage; painting it as a mutually beneficial situation that is only worth it as long as we are getting what we want out of it. In marriage God unites husband and wife as one flesh, making divorce the tearing apart of that flesh.

But God brings healing. He can bring healing to any marriage in hardship, even when divorce seems imminent. He can bring healing to individuals who have gone through divorce. He can bring healing to anger, hurt, betrayal, and shame. God has a powerful forgiveness that we can give to those who have wronged us. He has a powerful forgiveness for us if we have wronged others. He can, He has, He does bring healing; for our God is the God of reconciliation.
May we recognize the hurt that is a reality of our marriages not worked at with God’s purpose in mind and in the divorces that dissolve them. May we comfort those who have experienced this. May we be at work for our own marriages (now or if in the future) to guard and protect them as sacred gifts. May we help to guard and encourage the marriages of others. May we give guidance and good counsel to any who might be considering marriage, that they would be joined together according to God’s intentions.


Prayer:

God,
Protect marriages everywhere, and provide healing to those who may still be dealing with hurt from divorce. Amen.